London to Iceland

• Meet up with Adam in Iceland
• Iceland Nightlife

We wake and pack our bags and check out is not until 10am. Our filghts to Iceland is in the afternoon. So we take our our time. Strangely enough the door is flung open with a hotel worker scaring the crap out of us. It was rather abrupt. She yells ' what time are you checking out'. Not right now because we still  have an hour til check out time. She left us to be. So be warned. If you are staying at the Royal National Hotel, that could happen to you.

We left our bags at the storage room which was 50p. Headed to Leichester Square, Piccadilly circus, Covent Gardens and Trafalgar Square. For lunch we headed to Chinatown and had all you can at this chinese store. The place was cramped but the food was great. Especially the warm vegetable soup. It was sprinkling for most of the day. We popped into a pub for a drink then headed back to the hotel to use the internet at the contiki basement. We then head back at 4pm to grab our bag. Walk about 10mins from the hotel to Euston Station. The back pack were killing us. We grabbed our tickets for 20pounds. Had to change over at Tottenham station. The train was on time only thing was there was no where to put your luggages. The stansted express took 45mins to get to the airport. It was an hour of waiting before check in. Our back packs were taken to Zone G as the straps apparently would get stuck onto the conveyor belts. We head trhough security and my bags gets a thorough check meaning the poor lady had to go through my many souvenirs I had in my bag only to find out it was a almost empty cool water bottle I forgot I didn’t put in those plastic bags you are meant to put all your liquids in when you go through security check. After they rammaged through all my belongings I was free to go. So I knew next time to make sure I had all liquids packedin my bag so I didn’t have to go through that all over again. Gate 7 where we are departing from requires us to take a train and head over to the other side of the airport. It takes a few seconds to arrive and our flight is called as we board the plane onwards to Iceland. Can’t wait!

The wonderful life in Reykjavik

The flight wasn’t too bad and takes only 3 hours. I slept for most part of it. I wake up just as we are landing in Kevlavik Airport. It was so cold. The airport was deserted but then again it was 11.30pm . We head through and head through customs to get our arrivals stamp.We walk through the duty free store which looked more like a supermarket and head to grab our bags. It's late and there is hardly anybody at the airports apart from the passengers leaving the plane. We exit the doors and I see Adam. We say our hello and head to the car. Its freezing cold as the temperature drops. I am thankful for my big jacket that has been a saviour for me. We head to exit the car park and found the boom gates were not opening and not functioning very well.  Adam manages to lift the boom gates and we are on our way back to his pad. It was dark so I couldn't see much of the scenary. The trip from Keflavik Airport to Reykavik takes 45mins. We arrive at Adams pad and drop our things and have a catch up. The strange thing about Iceland is although its 11pm its not extremely dark. I'm all whacked out and tired so I leave the two brothers to catch up as I head to bed. I know that I didn't get quite to sleep til about 2am and the sun was already starting to creep back up as the sky started to become light again. I managed to get some sleep whereas Ed partied it up with his brother til the next morning.

WALK ABOUT THE CITY OFF REYKJAVIK

It’s a late wake up for us today. About noon we all scramble out of bed. Adam takes us for a walk to 1011 which is a convenience store in Iceland but with very diverse range of things. It will be our pit stop for the duration of our stay in Iceland for a quick feed. We grab some breakfast. Burritos were the way to go as we heated them up in the microwaves the store provides. The weather today was blizzard cold. The cold didn’t bother us too much but it started raining , so we asked the storeman to call a taxi from us as we waiting inside. The drive into town is less then 15mins. The cab driver drops us at the end of main street of Reykjavik. The rain keeps falling as we walk through the main strip of town. There are shops but the streets don’t seem too busy. We stop by at an Irish pub for a beer. Adam then takes us to the waters where the view was amazing picturesque of mountains and clear waters. We take pictures by the viking boat monument. We cruise through town and decide to walk back to Adams place, which is not too far off. We all rest up for what we thought was going to be a big night. We head out for town about 9pm and it is still light. The fact the sun takes it’s time to set can really get you all confused and lose track of time. We hitch a ride in with Adams mates to the main street. The atmosphere is a huge change from being a quite sleepy town, now filled with plenty party goers and all the bars pumping with music. Most of the bars now packed with crowds are cafés during the day, then by the evening converts into buzzing clubs and bars. We try to enter one and Ed is refused entry, so we scrap that bar. We head up to a local bar and enjoy a few drinks. The night life in Iceland certainly is buzzing and everyone comes out. The town is sleepy and quiet by day but by night is a huge party.

THE BLUE LAGOON

This morning we head to 1011 for lunch. Ed and I are dropped off at the BSI Terminal which is a bus terminal where you are able to catch coaches that take you on excursions or transfers to the bus. It’s only about 10mins from the town centre. We board the 4pm bus and the ticket, which includes our bus fare and our entry to the Blue Lagoon, is Icleandic Kroner of 2990, which is equal to about $60AUD. The bus drive to the Lagoon is 45 mins. Looking out of the windows there are endless views of what looks like volcanic rocks. There is plenty of fog and its when you see this that it does seem like you are on the other side of the world. We approach the entry to the blue lagoon. We exit the bus and its almost minus degrees weather. The wind is fierce and my teeth are chattering. Ed and I are uncertain if we can bare the cold. As you enter , you are given wrist bands that give you access to the lockers provided in the change room. Ed hires some togs for about $10. We part ways and go to our the change rooms and here I walk in and there are naked women all over the place. The toilets were strange as they were just plastic shower curtains that you draw. There is a huge gap and so there is really no coverage so it makes going to the toilet a very uneasy experience. It was not until the end of the day that I realised that there were other toilets that had actual locked doors. It was freezing cold and the temperature was about 5 degrees so rather then walk straight into the lagoon  outside , we use the passage doorway. Ed and I started from inside. The water was extremely warm and hard to believe its naturally heated. We make our way our to the outside. As soon as we were out side the wind was blowing like mad. We had to keep our bodies under water so we wouldn’t freeze to death. I had to turn my back against the wind as it seriously was fierce. The water was beautiful however, and it was relaxing. The lagoon is massive so you can move from one end of the area to the next. There is the deeper end and of course the shallow. That was the area I would stick around. Although this part of the lagoon was not open, but there was a pampering area, where you can get body massage and facials using the natural face mud mask. They had the face mask and body mask available for us to use. Ed and I put some on our faces but it was an odd smell and I washed mine off straight away. Some areas were much warmer then others and Ed and I found a nice spot where every second a nice flow of hot water would come and warm us up It was the most relaxing thing I’ve experienced. We soaked ourselves in the massive tub for a good 4 hours then it was time to head out and catch the final bus out of there. We head back get changed and stop for a quick meal, then it was back on the bus. It was by now 10pm in the evening, the sun of course was still out. We arrive at the Bsi terminal where everyone hops off. Ed and I hail a cab and head back to the 1011. From there we walk back to Adams house which is a 5 min walk. The rest of the evening we had some people over as everyone enjoyed drinks.

FOURTH DAY IN ICELAND

We start the day off at 1011 . Adam takes us over to the shopping mall in Reykjavik . It’s very large in size and plenty of shops. The only downside is,  it is very expensive. I grab a few items whilst there. Thank goodness for credit cards.

From there we head to the famous church in central Iceland. For 350kr we head up to the top of the building to view it from above. It’s great to see the town in a 360 degree angle. I took plenty of pics. We head into town and a have a few drinks at the celtic club. We head for the liquor store a few minutes before 6pm. In Iceland all the liquor stores close at 6pm so you can imagine the rush. There are plenty people getting their evening supplies. Ed decides on Moet and Chandon. Nice choice. So we grab our drinks and head back to Adam. We chill at the apartment. At 12midnight we head back into town and head back to the Celtic Club. There is a band playing and the atmosphere is filled very much with locals. We have drinks and then it was time to head back home for rest.

LAST DAY IN ICELAND

After the night out in town waking took longer then usual. At 1.30pm Ed and I woke up. Had a shower. One thing I notice about Iceland is the sulfur smell found in the waters. By now I had gotten used to it but prior it was a strong smell that was very noticeable. We grab our things and again head to 1011. I am by now hooked on the self serve salad bowls. You pack in as much of the salads and its such a great snack. Today is a lazy day. We spend most of the day packing , doing the washing and organising our things for our next destination Sweden. We do an all nighter and stay up chatting with Adam and his mates till 2am where we get a ride to the BSI Bus Terminal. It was 45 mins till the bus departing for the airport arrives. As other travellers start to reassemble , Ed and I just sleep and wait. At 3.30am the bus departs for the airport. While we are checking in, the alarm warning goes on twice. Everyone is unsure if its false or not. Thankfully its false. Our baggage is checked and once again we have to take it to the odd size baggage due to the straps. It’s not attending by anyone, you just place your bags on the conveyor belt and press a button and off it goes. You just have to hope that it doesn’t end up elsewhere. We have an hour before our flight departs so we grab breakfast. At 7am we board the plane. I slept through it all. I woke up in just in time to see the beaut view. We land in Stockholm Arlanda Airport at 12.10pm. 3 hours on and we are now in another country. Good bye Iceland. Hello Sweden!